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View Full Version : Anxiety=Stomach? Or Stomach=Anxiety?



lowbudget
11-21-2008, 04:25 PM
First time posting on a forum. Bear with me.

I am 55, male. Have had major bouts of anxiety, most a long time ago. Discovered finally that the severest episodes were related to a type of "separation anxiety" spurred by childhood events. (strange for a grown man). Actually spent 3 weeks in a mental hospital after devastating attack in my early 20s.

I say this to indicate that I am very familiar with anxiety issues.

In late 2006 I began to have peculiar "stomach" issues. Out of the blue, I began to feel queasy. The problem centered in my upper abdomen. I felt just slightly nauseous and had a tremendous amount of gas with constant belching. But the worst part was that I felt drained, weak, fatigued, shaky. I could hardly concentrate. My thoughts were a jumble and everything became harder to do. I began to feel sad and overly emotional. I attributed this to my weakened condition.

At the time, I was in a relatively new position. As this condition persisted, I became very anxious about my job. My performance suffered and I began to worry about job security. Then the symptoms would subside and I would be back to normal.

A couple months later this recurred. I went to the doctor because there were so many physical symptoms and I was having some pain under my right rib cage. An ultrasound revealed possible polyps on my gall bladder. This led to a HITA scan which indicated low function in the GB. I went ahead and had it removed.

Frustratingly, the symptoms persisted even after the surgery which was over a year ago. I am in the midst of another episode and that led me to this forum for reasons I'l describe next.

All during this period of time I have been extremely worried about my finances and job security. My previous positions were both quite stressful and I'm now in a partnership in a relatively new venture and, as you can imagine, it is not a great time to be building a new business.

My dilemma is deciphering what is driving what. Is my stress and anxiety causing these physical problems? Or are my physical problems exacerbating my anxiety issues? I am in therapy for the anxiety issues and I think my therapist believes that the anxiety is causing the stomach issues. I'm not so sure.

I'm just tossing this out there to see if anyone has struggled through this frustrating process. When I experience the stomach problems I am downright miserable. It is hard to get out of bed in the morning.

Just want to compare notes.

gettingoverit
11-21-2008, 10:30 PM
I have stomach problems due to anxiety, which in turn makes me more anxious. You might be developing extra acid in your GI tract, so see your doctor about tacking Prilosec. I've found out that the less I worry about my stomach, the better it feels.